Firestorm Vol 1
by BubbaZ85
Summary: I started this a couple of years ago on deviantART, and a friend suggested I put it on here. Basically, it's a "clash of the multiverse" setting, with lots of familiar and completely new characters.


Firestorm (Vol. I):  
When Worlds Collide  
(Theme: "Youth of the Nation" by P.O.D.)

Prologue

LOCATION: Amestris  
"Come on, Al!" exclaimed Edward Elric. "The solar eclipse is about to begin!"  
"Okay, brother, I'm coming!" responded Alphonse. Taking a break from trying to recover their bodies, the Elric brothers were preparing to have a once-in-a-lifetime experience. They, along with their friend Winry Rockbell and their superiors Roy Mustang & Riza Hawkeye, were about to witness a solar eclipse.  
Little did they know that something else was about to happen…

LOCATION: Capsule Corporation  
"Hey, Dad, the eclipse is about to happen!" yelled young Trunks. "What's taking Goten so long?"  
"Don't worry, Trunks, they're almost here," said Bulma Briefs.  
"Kakarot's family better get here," grumbled Vegeta, "before I go back inside."  
"Oh stop it Vegeta," replied Bulma.  
"Trunks, we're here!" yelled out young Goten. "Hiya, Bulma! Hiya, Vegeta!"  
"Took you long enough, Kakarot," said Vegeta.  
"Sorry, we had to stop and get Videl and Hercule," said Goku.  
"Quiet everyone, the eclipse is starting!" exclaimed Chi-Chi.

LOCATION: Mobius  
"Where is Sonic?" yelled a pink hedgehog. "It's almost time!"  
"Don't worry, Amy, he'll be here," said a two-tailed fox.  
Amy, Tails, and Sonic's other friends were having a party to celebrate the solar eclipse. Only Sonic was missing.  
"Speaking of Sonic," said Dr. Eggman, "there he is."  
"Sorry I'm late!" yelled a certain blue hedgehog who, unsurprisingly, was holding two chili dogs. "I had to make a pit stop."  
"Took you long enough," said Knuckles.  
"It's starting!" said young Cream.

LOCATION: White Lotus Temple, Earthrealm  
Two men were standing, waiting for something. Suddenly, a flash of lightning struck, revealing another man, surrounded by electricity. "Hello, Liu Kang, Kung Lao."  
"Hello, Raiden," said the one called Liu Kang. "Any news?"  
The thunder god replied, "Quan Chi and Shang Tsung are planning to escape during the solar eclipse."  
"Not good," answered a voice in the shadows. A Lin Kuei warrior, clothed in blue and black, stepped out. "My clan is willing to help, Raiden," said Sub-Zero.  
"Good, because the eclipse is about to start."

LOCATION: CLASSIFIED  
A man is sitting in a room. The only other things in the room are a bed, a table, and a lit candle. The man appears to be meditating. Suddenly, the candle extinguishes itself. The man awakens.  
"It's time. Finally, I can escape this damn prison. Please, let them be safe…"

Chapter 1: When Worlds Collide

LOCATION: Happy Harbor  
A trio of boys was walking towards the game store.  
"Hey, Wally, is the new game out yet?" said one, a boy of 16 with unkempt brown hair.  
"I don't know, Matt," said a younger boy of 14, with red hair.  
"Come on, guys, let's go check. Race ya!" said a boy of 13 with jet black hair.  
Matt, Wally West, and Dick Grayson had just gotten out of school for the summer.  
"Hey, did ya'll hear about the solar eclipse? It's supposed to start around 5:00, isn't it?" asked Matt.  
"That's in a few minutes! Man, where does the time go?" said Dick.  
"Hey, isn't that Bruce Wayne's limo coming towards us?" asked Wally.  
A black limousine pulled up beside the boys. The front passenger window rolled down. "Get in," commanded Bruce Wayne. "You too, Matt."  
-5 minutes later-  
"Welcome to the headquarters of Young Justice, Matt," said Wally.  
"Wait, so let me get this straight, you two are Kid Flash and Robin? Awesome!" exclaimed Matt. "But why am I here?"  
Batman walked into the room. "What do you know about alternate universes or realities, Matt?"  
"Um…All I really know is that scientists theorize it's a possibility that there are other realities. Why?"  
"Hey, Bruce, you might want to see this," said Robin, next to the vid-screen.  
"In breaking news, reports are coming in that portals have started to appear throughout the world, with various beings coming through them."  
A video showed a gaping portal, with what appeared to be a man in green tights with a sword and shield coming through. Next to him was a young woman wearing a dress.  
"Huh? Aren't they Link and Zelda?" said Matt. Several heads turned to look at him. "What? I play a lot of video games."  
Suddenly, a portal appeared in the room. A man in a black hoodie stepped out of it. "Good, he's safe."  
"Huh? Who's safe?" said Matt.  
"You didn't tell him?"  
"I was about to, when the portals started to appear," said Batman.  
"Wally, Dick, did I miss something?"  
They exchanged worried looks.  
"Matt, come here," said Batman.  
He walked over to them. "Okay, you two better start talking. Who is he?"  
The mystery man said two words: "I'm you."

Chapter 2: Confessions

"Whoa whoa. What did you say!?"  
"No time to explain. Come on, you need to meet someone."  
"Who?"  
"What did I just say, there's no time to explain! Jump into the portal!"  
After the two disappeared, and the others left, the air shimmered. A humanoid form appeared. At first glance, one might have thought that the suit it was wearing was malfunctioning, giving it a smoky appearance. However, that wasn't the case. The ninja known as Smoke was made of nanobots. The only solid parts on him were his armor and mask. He pressed a button on his gauntlet. A voice responded, "Report."  
"He has taken the boy, as you suspected."  
"Good. Everything is going to plan. Now leave, before you are caught."

"Where are we?" All I could see was darkness. From what I could tell, it sounded like we were by the ocean.  
"We're at the meeting place. Now, please help me build the fire."  
A couple of minutes later, we had a nice little blaze started. I wanted to ask him something.  
"How did you start the fire? You don't look like the type to keep a lighter or a book of matches."  
"All in good time, Matt. All in good time."  
He lowered his hood. I was speechless. He really did look like me! "Wha…how…" The only differences between us were a thin scar on the side of his face and some fuzz on his chin.  
"I can't tell you. Not yet. I can tell you one thing, though. Everyone calls me Duke."  
"Okay…Duke. Who are we meeting?"  
"You'll see. Ah, speak of the devil."  
I looked over to where he was looking. All I could see was a silhouette of…something. Something humanoid, yet not human. A female voice called out, "You know I hate it when you say that." The figure stepped into the light. I was right: she wasn't human.  
She had blue skin, webbed fingers & toes, and what appeared to be a cone-shaped appendage in place of hair. She appeared to be about the same height as me. Electric blue eyes stared at me. "Is this him?"  
"Yep. It's him. See the resemblance?" said Duke.  
I was speechless, again. I'm pretty sure my mouth was open, because she said, "What are you looking at, silly?"  
I snapped out of my trance. "Who are you? What are you?"  
She answered, "I am the daughter of the great Mata Nui and the water fairy Nokama. My name is Ranamon."

Chapter 3: Revelations

Many things went through my head. Only one thing escaped my mouth:  
"Did you say water fairy? I thought fairies had wings."  
"Technically, I'm an undine (a female water spirit FYI). They're related to fairies."  
"Okay, Ranamon, not this again. We need to decide what to do with him."  
"I know, Duke."  
"What are you going to do to me?" I asked.  
They exchanged looks. "You didn't tell him?"  
"I was going to wait 'til you got here," said Duke.  
"Okay, this is really pissing me off. WHAT IS GOING ON!?" I yelled out.  
Duke said, "Remember what I said about me being you? That's only half true. You are, er… how should I put this? You and I share the same soul. I created you 16 years ago to save us. Batman knew, so I asked him to help watch over you."  
"What do you mean, save us?"  
Ranamon answered, "Duke has been a prisoner for as long as you've been alive. He was held captive by a demon known as Versago. In Versago's realm, only those with tainted hearts can survive. Before he was captured, Duke split his soul and sent his good half to this dimension. You are the embodiment of his good half."  
"Okay, I understand. Sort of. But how is Duke almost an exact copy of me? Shouldn't he be in his 30's?"  
"Eternal youth. That's what you get for marrying an immortal."  
I almost fell anime style after hearing that. Duke and Ranamon laughed.  
After we all calmed down, Duke brought out a bag of marshmallows. "How did you do that?" I asked.  
"Magic? No seriously, I can manipulate things just by thinking about it. It's a form of telekinesis. Watch." He gave me a wedgie while sitting down, only his arm moving.  
Suddenly, the sky was lit up by a flare! "Get them!" yelled a deep voice. Several robots with blasters appeared.

Chapter 4: Rage

"Battle droids? Crap, he found us. Ranamon, where's my zanpakutô? Where's Dragon Soul?"  
"Here, catch!" She threw what appeared to be a sword with intricate designs on either side.  
Duke caught it. "Bankai: Espada del Fuego." Suddenly, the sword appeared to catch fire. "It's showtime. Come on out, Grievous, you coward! Ranamon, protect Matt."  
"So, you think you can beat me, Duke?" challenged General Grievous. "You're not even a Jedi. You don't even have a lightsaber! *Cough cough*"  
"Come on, Matt. We've got to hide!" said Ranamon.  
"Okay…but what about Duke?"  
"Trust me, he can take care of himself. Just don't piss him off."  
"Why?"  
"You DON'T want to know. Hurry! I need to release your powers!"  
"Wait, what?!"  
Behind us, I could hear droids crying out as they were cut down. "Grievous, you bastard!"  
"Oh no, not again," said Ranamon.  
"What do you mean, not again?"  
"We have about 5 seconds to hide…"  
A shockwave of pure energy emanated from Duke as a black aura surrounded him. "Uh, Ranamon…"  
"GET DOWN!"  
All around us, trees and rocks were obliterated. The only thing saving us was an energy shield that was starting to lose power. "I can't hold it much longer…" cried out Ranamon. Suddenly, she collapsed. Behind me, I could hear a howl of what sounded like a cross between rage and pain.  
"Retreat!" sounded off a battle droid before its head flew off its body. The remaining battle droids ran towards a portal that had just opened up.  
"OH NO YOU DON'T!" cried out Duke. He raised his hand, and spheres of energy flew out and destroyed the remaining droids. Only Grievous was left.  
"You win this time. Next time, you won't be so lucky." Grievous then fled towards the portal, escaping just as it closed.  
"DUKE! Ranamon's hurt!" I cried out.  
"Damn it…Dragon Soul: release." The strange sword went back to its original form. The aura surrounding him had vanished.  
He started flying over to me and Ranamon. As he landed, he asked, "What happened?" As I told him, he cursed and muttered, "Damn it, not again…" When I asked him what he meant, he said, "Whenever I get really worked up or injured in battle, I enter a state of pure rage. Anger fuels my attacks, and sometimes friends, as well as foes, get hurt, especially when I can't control it. This is one of those times." He opened a portal.  
"Where are we going?" I asked.  
"Help me pick her up. We have to take her to Zora's Domain. They're the only ones who can heal her."  
"Zora's…isn't that underwater?"  
"Yep…Need some swim trunks?"

Chapter 5: Zora's Domain

Grievous knelt before the throne. "I'm sorry, my liege, but they escaped."  
The figure in the throne yelled out, "Fool! I should have you killed for screwing this up! Versago is not going to be happy about this. I send you to capture a powerless boy, and you come back without even your men!" The figure slammed its fist on the throne's armrest. "No matter. I have other plans. Have your troops located the Son and Daughter of the Force?"  
"Yes, my liege. They are hiding in a place called the Crystal Caves, in an island group called the DK Isles."  
"Ha, do they really think they're safe with a bunch of monkeys? Go find them."  
"Yes, my liege."

"Welcome to Zora's Domain, Matt."  
We were standing on a tropical beach. In the cliffs next to us was a tunnel. "I thought Zora's Domain was underwater?"  
"Well, kinda. The city itself is underwater. The surrounding area is called Zora's Domain, including this beach, the cliffs, and the tunnel. Our contact should be here in 3...2...1..." He counted off with his fingers.  
A blue head popped out of the water. "Duke! Long time, no see!"  
"Hey Zola. Matt, meet Zola the Zora, personal aide and guard to the Princess Ruto herself. Zola, I'd love to chat, but we need a healer. Ranamon's hurt, badly."  
"Well, let's hurry! I'll take her ahead to our best healer. You two take the tunnel."  
After she took Ranamon and left, I uttered, "So that's a Zora…"  
Duke was already walking into the tunnel. "Hurry up!"  
The tunnel was dark and wet. What light there was came from glowworms and strange mushrooms. "I hope she's okay," I heard myself mumble.  
"Don't worry, she's been through worse."  
At the end of the tunnel, two Zora guards stood before a large gateway. "Hello, Duke. Who's the kid?" one of them said.  
"He's with me. I'll need two."  
The guard closest to me gave me what looked like a clear mask, just big enough to stretch from ear to ear like a big smile.  
Duke explained, "It converts the oxygen from the water into breathable oxygen. Only the Zoras know how to make them."  
I put mine on, and we stepped through the gateway. What I saw next was breathtaking: a city completely underwater.  
"Pretty cool, huh? You should see the Gungans' on Naboo."  
"Duke, over here!" yelled Zola. "Follow me!"  
At the healer's house, Ranamon was awake.  
"You okay, Ranamon?" asked Duke.  
"I'll be fine. I just need some rest."  
"I'm sorry. I just lost control."  
"Stop worrying, Duke, you'll have another anxiety attack, and I don't have your pills on me."  
"Very funny. Just get better. We need to find the others before it's too late, and YOU need to release Matt's powers. Remember the last time I tried something like that?"  
"Don't remind me…" she grumbled.

TO BE CONTINUED…

NEXT TIME: Fire and Ice


End file.
